I Can Say Your Name
by Vaneria Potter
Summary: The Reunion from Lady Sarah Ashley's point of view. May or may not be continued into other points of view.
1. Sarah Ashley

_Disclaimer: I may be Australian, but I definately don't own the Movie!_

_Summary: The Reunion after Darwin's Bombing from Lady Sarah Ashley's point of view. May or may not be continued. _

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**I Can Say Your Name! - Sarah**

_Sarah_

The past twenty-four hours have been little more than a daze.

The sorrow that I am unlikely to see Faraway Downs again, and the bitter anger that Fletcher will win after all. Both emotions almost, but not quite, eclipsed by the joy and hope that I will be able to see Nullah again, and we will go south and be a family, and perhaps even find Drover again.

The fear and panic when the bombers hit first, and our first warning was the explosion that took out half of Headquarters. The terrible grief when I saw Emmett at the hospital, just as he identified the body of my dearest friend, Catherine Fletcher, only at Headquarters because I had begged her to trade shifts with me.

The numb detachment as I stand in what used to be my room at the Territory, gazing at the 'Family Photo' taken only a few months back. Drover and I, side by side, and my arms around Nullah, his little dark face lit up with a cheeky smile. The son and husband that I will never have, the family that no longer is, and now never will be.

The name 'Drover' always suited him so well, that I never asked what my lover's real name was. In the Aborigine culture, you cannot speak the name of the dead, so, for the second time, I cannot say the name of the child I almost had.

* * *

Now I am running down the wharf, away from an impatient Sergeant Lapin and a puzzled Emmett, toward the faint strains of music that no one else hears. Music and the faint echo of the last words Nullah spoke to me "_I sing you to me, Mrs. Boss!"_

I dodge piles of debris as I run, cursing this restrictive skirt as my heart beats in time with my promise, _"And I will hear you."_

Nullah has often claimed that he is a Wizard, ever since I explained what it meant, shortly before giving a horrific rendition of '_Somewhere over the Rainbow'_. With all that the son of my heart has done and been through, I can barely fault that stubborn conviction, and hope begins to swell within me again.

A small sailboat comes from behind the wreckage of a warship, gliding slowly toward the harbor, a small figure standing at the bow, waving madly. I bounce in anticipation, hardly daring to believe it, as the high-pitched, achingly familiar voice carries across the short distance. "Mrs. Boss, Mrs. Boss!"

The sailboat docks and my little boy is running up the stairs toward me, still shouting my 'title'. I break into a mad dash toward the gate, meeting Nullah as he throws himself into my arms. "I can say your name!"

Speech is beyond me as I cradle him in my arms, holding him with no intention of ever letting go, my broken heart slowly piecing itself back together. Nothing else exists, not the smoke, or the emergency crews, or the convoy waiting to evacuate. Slowly, Nullah's rushed narrative filters through my joy. "Some of those little fellas from the desert can't swim 'em. But the Drover, he take them on his back like a turtle."

Wait, what? I kneel down to Nullah's level, staring at him in shock. "What did you say? What?"

Nullah graces me with his cheeky, knowing smile as he points at something behind me. "Drover."

I whirl around, and see the man in question, staring at me as though he has just seen a ghost. Given the bombing only yesterday, I suppose it is an acceptable assumption. Time looses meaning, and it could be seconds or hours as he slowly approaches. Then we are in each other's arms as he gives a cry of desperate relief. "You're alive! Oh, God!"

It has been a long time since I have believed in fairytales, but the kiss we share seems like something straight out of a story. Passion, longing, and the feeling of completion at being reunited. I smile against my Drover's lips and lean against him, safe in his arms. Another, smaller, pair wraps around us both, and I drop one arm to pull Nullah closer, feeling Drover do the same.

I cannot tell how long we stand there before Emmett finds us. "Sarah, what's going on? I can't hold the sergeant any longer."

The look on his face is slightly amusing as he sees the twenty or so children from Mission Island running over toward us. Ever the Army Officer, he pulls himself together and begins directing them down to where the convoy waits. He begins to follow, then turns back to me, still in Drover's arms. "You know, when I said that no one could get out there, I'd forgotten about you, Drover."

Emmett does not like Drover, and this is as close to a thank-you and welcome back as he will concede, but the possibility of an awkward moment is shattered by Nullah's cheerful reply. "That no matter. We gonna go back Faraway Downs."

He hugs me again, and I have to force myself to pay attention to Emmett's next words. "He's right, you know. With the water up, it's the safest place in the north. These are, after all…"

Drover fills in the words, never letting go of me. "Extraordinary circumstances."

Emmett nods in agreement, softly repeating the term, and I smile at him. "Thank you, Emmett."

My friend turns to leave, and I embrace Nullah and Drover again. My family is back together, and my heart is whole again.

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_A/N: OK, this is my first 'Australia' fic, so feedback is much appreciated. It's only a one-shot, for now, but I may end up doing Nullah and Drover, as well. If there is anyone else you'd like to see, let me know._

_Thanks,  
Nat _


	2. Nullah

_Disclaimer: I may be an Aussie, but I sure as heck don't own the movie._

_Summary: See previous chapters._

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**I Can Say Your Name – Nullah**

'_Half-cast'_ mean many things.

It mean that you not black fella, or white fella.

It mean that you outcast.

It mean loss, and fear, and no family, but I never felt that til now.

Them Japs bombed Mission Island, and nearly got us, but I shield us with magic. Then Drover finds us, gets us to boat, but them Japs kill Muggari before he can follow. Now we headed back to Darwin, but then what?

White fella catch me when I go walkabout with Grandfather, and white fella won't let Grandmother take me, and I not going nowhere with Bad Man Fletcher. Mama is dead, and Drover say that we can't say Mrs. Boss's name anymore. I got no family to go to, so they gonna take me to another mission.

But first we gotta get back to Darwin.

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My magic, not good, all that smoke. But then, he speak to me. Grandfather. My magic not work, but I sing us home anyway. Mrs. Boss not good singer, but she teach me songs. Flynn teach me to play what he call _'Somewhere over the Rainbow'_, song that bring Dorothy to Oz and back. Now song bring us back.

Other boys sing song that the missionaries taught us, and Grandfather sings magic song. I play harmonica, and the smoke starts to clear. I look up at wharf, and I see her.

Mrs. Boss.

Drover make mistake, but that no matter. Mrs. Boss is looking for us, bouncing like a little joey as I shout her name. "Mrs. Boss, Mrs. Boss!"

The boat drifts to the wharf, and I run up the stairs, still calling. Mrs. Boss shouts for me as she runs, and I throw myself into her arms. "Oh, Mrs. Boss! I can say your name!"

Mrs. Boss hugs me like on our first Drove, like all the bad things are gone, and everything will be good, because she is there, and she won't let anything happen to me.

I not want to let her go, and I tell her what happened so she not worry about us. "Mrs. Boss, I sing you to me like the first night I see you. Them Japs nearly got us; we had to swim 'em! Some of them little fellas from the desert can't swim 'em, so Drover, he take 'em on his back like a turtle!"

Mrs. Boss puts me down so she can look at my face, her eyes big. "What did you say? What?"

It funny to watch Drover and Mrs. Boss dance around each other, so I smile as I point behind her. "Drover."

Mrs. Boss turns around to see Drover, who look like he just run into a Tamara Quinkin, all shocked. He get over it, but, and hug her tight. "You're alive!"

My family back together and we stand there while the other mission kids go with Brother Frank. White man Army Boss even say that we get to go back Faraway Downs, and I gonna be invisible again.

Mrs. Boss remembers manners, and says thank you, and smiles at me and Drover.

Drover and Mrs. Boss are White Fella, but they my family and I am home again.

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_A/N: So, here we have Nullah's point of view, and I'm working on Drover's, although I may put a bit more of the surrounding events in his chapter._

_Nullah was difficult to write, both because I had to fit into the mind of an eight-year-old boy, and because of the speech patterns, so please tell me how I did._

_Thanks, Nat._


	3. Drover

_Disclaimer: I may be Australian, but I don't own the movie, or the characters.  
Summary: See previous chapters._

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**I Can Say Your Name – Drover**

I stagger the familiar path to the _Territory_, barely aware of my surroundings. It was as though someone had torn a gaping hole in my heart, just like when my wife died.

Sarah. She was supposed to be safe at Faraway Downs. The last words we spoke had been an argument, and I know I broke her heart when I didn't try to argue when she told me if I walked out of the gate, not to come back.

Muggari had yelled some sense into me, though I refused to listen at the time, and I had been thinking of the best way to apologize when we drove into Darwin, only to find it in flames, and the news that Sarah had been working in Headquarters. The first place that the Jap Bombers had hit.

Hysterical, I had fought my way through three soldiers, and nearly punched my own brother in the face before he pulled me away. I don't know what I will do next, and I can barely think as I hear whispers of Sarah's voice, taunting me with memories.

_But right now it's raining._ I told her that I wouldn't move in and settle down, that Droving was who I was. She knew that, accepted it, and would never ask more than I could give.

_It's different now. We've got Nullah._ Her argument when I accused her of trying to control me. Nullah and I filled a void in Sarah's heart. Nullah said that Sarah healed Faraway Downs, but we healed her. Until I walked away, because I was too scared to call them family.

_She deserves a drink like any man. Too bloody right. Crikey._ We got off to a rocky start, but Sarah won my respect and affection during that first drove. A Lady, fresh from England, with no experience. But she didn't let it stop her from droving the cattle across the Never-Never, fighting all odds to save her station.

Ivan barely even winced as I entered, despite the fact that my presence usually heralded a brawl, and only put up a token protest before allowing my brother inside and pouring drinks. "I saw her this morning, before she went to the work. She was so happy. She was going to get her little boy, and go south."

It was probably unintentional, but Ivan's words only tore my heart deeper. So Sarah had been right when she said that Nullah had been taken by the Missionaries. What had happened to him? "What about the children on Mission Island?"

"The creamies?" Ivan could match me for lack of diplomacy. "They are left out there. Safe in the hands of God. They say the Island was hit first. They say no one could have survived."

Despite my words, Nullah was as close to a son as I would ever have. Sarah would have done anything to find and rescue Nullah, and I could do no less. "They say a lot of things."_ That doesn't make it true._

Decking Bull as we helped Brother Frank steal a boat was perhaps a bit too enjoyable, but certainly a great stress-relief. It did all of bloody nothing to calm my nerves as we sailed to Mission Island, but.

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The first thing we saw on arrival was not promising. The dormitory was in flames, smoke rose from what had probably once been the watchtower, up on the hill, and there was no sign of life.

I directed Muggari and Ivan to search the rest of the area, just as something caught my eye. A row of child-sized shoes, shoes like the ones Sarah was forever trying to make Nullah wear, now ragged and black with smoke.

Tears filled my eyes, though now was not the time to let them fall. A twig snapped, a bush rustled, and I swung my gun to point toward the noise, only to almost drop it as a small, dark face looked out, and a young boy stepped out, followed by several others. A few more made their way out from behind the dormitory as I knelt before one of the older boys. "Where are the others? Are there any other boys?"

The boy shook his head in confusion. "I don't know?"

Oh, God, please let Nullah still be alive, and hopefully nearby. I am just looking around for other possible hiding places when an achingly familiar voice calls to me. "Drover? Drover!"

I turn around so fast that I nearly fall over my own feet. Only a few meters away, pulling himself out of a ditch was Nullah. Before I knew what was happening, I was running toward him, incapable of coherent speech. As exuberant as ever, Nullah threw himself into my arms. "I knew you come! I sing you to me!"

Beyond words, I could only hold Nullah as close as possible, thanking God and anything else that he was safe. Unfortunately, that only made it harder when Nullah greeted Muggari, and then asked the one question I wished I didn't have to answer. "Mrs. Boss come too? Where's Mrs. Boss?"

Sarah had comforted Nullah when his birth mother had died, and now it was my turn to do the same. "We can't say her name anymore, little mate."

I couldn't make Nullah laugh with a horrible singing voice, but I had to do something as his young face turned to the ground, filled with heartache. "Hey, now listen to me, I need your help. We gotta get all these fellas off the island. Now I need you to be strong for me, can you do that?"

Nullah nods quietly, and I breathe a sigh of relief. "Good boy. All right, go get your little mates down there." Nullah coaxes several young boys up, while Ivan runs into view with a few in their very early teens. I gather them all around. "All right. Boys, we're gonna have to swim. We gotta be real quiet, like a turtle. Now I'm gonna take you home on a ship. It's over there, you see it?"

I point to where we left the ship, only to see the beam of Japanese search lights sweep across the water. Running through a mental stream of curses, I settle on a slightly more kid-friendly one. "Oh, Crikey."

Time to go. Ivan and the older boys run to the boat, while Muggari and I herd the younger ones down to the wharf. Some of the boys are from inland, and have probably never swum in their life. I carry one in my arms and search for something floatable to put them on. I had just found a broken portion of the wharf when a flare went up, and we all froze. My brain went into overdrive, trying to think of a way to get us out of here, as Muggari stepped past me, speaking in his native tongue. "_Take the children and go._ Take this mob walkabout._"_

He's planning to distract the Japs while we swim to the boat. Is my brother insane? "You'll never make it!"

Muggari sends me a swift glare. "Well you gotta make it. You got family now! You gotta drive this mob home, Drover."

There is no use arguing as he pushes past me. The boys who can swim make for the boat, while I convince the younger ones to grab onto the driftwood. "Good luck, brother."

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The sun is rising over the ruins of Darwin as we slowly sail into the harbor. Nullah is playing his harmonica again and the familiar tune of _Somewhere Over The Rainbow_ drifts over the water as I pull in the sails. Knowing what the song means to both of us, I kneel down beside him as Brother Frank rouses the other boys, drawing them into a rendition of _Ave Maria_.

I smile sadly, thinking of the first time I heard that song; Sarah's very off-key attempt to keep Nullah's mind of his dead mother. Nullah counts the night that he saw _The Wizard of Oz_ as one of the best nights in his life. He saw it on the same night that Sarah first told me she loved me.

Suddenly, Nullah stops playing, rising to his feet and peering into the smoke. His face breaks into the largest smile I have ever seen, and he starts waving madly and shouting. "Mrs. Boss, Mrs. Boss!"

He shouts over and over as we pull up to the wharf, and my heart breaks again, believing that he is only seeing an illusion, and that we will soon have to face a life without Sarah. There is no time to ponder this, however, as Nullah jumps off the boat and dashes up the stairs, still calling out.

I move slower, herding the other boys with me. I lead the way up the stairs, only to stop dead in my tracks. Nullah is smiling his cheeky grin, pointing at me from his safe haven in someone's arms. A familiar blond head turns to me, even as a slender, lithe body straightens from its crouch.

I am barely aware of my body's movement as I struggle with the once-seemingly-impossible hope that now stands before me. Sarah. In a flash, I can move again, and I am running toward her. "You're alive!"

Then she is in my arms, holding me as if she will never let go, a situation that I have absolutely no problem with, and Nullah is wrapping his arms around us both.

Right now, I don't care if the Japs come back and blow us all to Kingdom Come. I have my family back, alive, and nothing else matters.

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_A/N: Well, Drover's chapter is up, and I Can Say Your Name is complete, unless people want to see Captain Dutton as well. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it._

_Also, Happy ANZAC day to everyone! It is a few days early, but I didn't want to hold off posting._

_In an interesting note, the first official ANZAC commemoration was on April 25, 1942, two months and six days after the bombing of Darwin._

_Thanks, Nat._


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